L'illusionniste 2010

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Both a modest homage to its writer and a melancholy look at a lost world. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Sylvain Chomet's animated feature began as an act of devotion and became a thing -- a fable, a tone poem, an elegy -- of ethereal beauty. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: A gentle, wistful tale of two people who briefly become a family, "The Illusionist" is both a tribute to the French filmmaker/comedian Jacques Tati and a final word from him. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Tati and Chomet are saying something complex but true here, testifying to the necessity of fakery while acknowledging that illusions can be cruel. The result is one beautiful movie -- and no less so for making a strong case that beauty is a lie. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: A lovely appreciation of Tati and a loving, bittersweet look at the end of the 1950s, before entertainers like the magician of the title were displaced by rock bands and other more visceral acts. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Watching "The Illusionist'' is like peering through a rippled windowpane onto a past that knows it's disappearing. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The dialogue is multilingual but largely incidental to the action; the physical comedy is gracefully rendered and often magical. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: This is a remarkable movie: lovely, slow-paced and almost silent, rich with pathos and deft comic gestures. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: A breathtakingly beautiful achievement in every way. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: The Illusionistis magical in more ways than one. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: A French import that's long on grace notes and wry humor, it eschews flash and opts for heart to great effect. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: ''The strength of 2-D...is it vibrates and it's not perfect, just like reality in fact,'' the director has said. Here's a perfect demonstration of that aesthetic truth. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: An elegant and emotional elegy for a bygone era. Read more

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: It's a mood piece, and that mood is melancholy. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The film ends on a note of graceful, heartbreaking beauty that Tati would have admired for its lack of sentimentality. A lot of what precedes that ending, though, is precious and slight and a little too fanciful. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: A cliche-riddled nostalgia trip. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: This "The Illusionist" does not star a goateed Edward Norton romancing luscious Jessica Biel while Rufus Sewell fumes, royally. But it is a bit of magic nonetheless. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The movie is almost entirely wordless -- much of what dialogue there is comes in grunts and grumbles reminiscent of the way adults speak in Charlie Brown cartoons -- meaning lots of dreary mimed gags. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A true masterpiece of visual enchantment. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Gorgeous, and full of bittersweet whimsy, The Illusionist is animator Sylvain Chomet's follow-up to his Oscar-nominated The Triplets of Belleville. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: "The Illusionist" represents the magically melancholy final act of Jacques Tati's career. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The story has enough sentimental schmaltz to grease a locomotive. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A quiet declaration of love - for the urban vistas of the 1950s, for sleight-of-hand enchantment, for pen-and-ink animation and for a legendary French filmmaker who exited the stage before telling his daughter the magic word. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The gentle delights range from the depiction of late fifties' Edinburgh with the milky light and gothic-influenced architecture, to the clever evocation of Tati's bumbling, comic rhythms. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The Illusionist is almost a silent movie, save for amusing sound affects, snatches of garbled dialogue and a beguiling piano score that inspires deep reflection. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: Tati thought anything could be funny, and while Chomet runs with that idea as a director, he challenges it as a storyteller. Read more

Leslie Felperin, Variety: A very happy marriage of Tati's and Chomet's distinctive artistic sensibilities. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: For its 80 minutes, the movie creates the illusion that not just Tati but his form of cerebral slapstick lives. Read more